Ship-Mate, your best choice for shipping semen

Ship-Mate: Collect and Ship

How to Collect, Prepare and Ship with Ship-Mate

Introduction

The following advice is based on our years of experience with breeding small dogs. Your collection method may vary depending on animal size and breed or advice from your veterinarian. We’ll also be mentioning products we don’t directly sell, but use regularly ourselves and recommend. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

First

It’s recommended you finalize your shipping options with your client before you even get started. This way when your client is ready, you can ship quickly and with little hassle. We’ll have more shipping information and tips a bit further down.

Items you'll need to collect and ship with Ship-Mate. From the left to right: a new D sized alkaline battery, the Ship-Mate, an insulated shipping carton, printed shipping documentation, a Nasco Whirl-Pak, marker pen, a styrofoam cup, and four solid frozen gel ice packs.
{Shown INSEMIN-AID, we recommend AndroPRO ChillGuard ST}

Get Ready

You should have the following on-hand and ready just before you collect:

For Collection:

a clean Styrofoam cup to collect in

AndroPRO ChillGuard STSemen Extender (warmed up)

a NascoWhirl-Pakcollection bag

a marker ink pen

For Shipping:

theShip-Mate

a new D sized alkaline battery

an insulated shipping carton

already frozen solid gel ice packs

all your shipping documentation

Ready the Ship-Mate

Put the new D sized alkaline battery into the bottom of theShip-Matelid.

After you do, if you see a rapidly flashing red light on the top of the lid, you’ll need a new battery.

If you see a rapidly flashing yellow light you already have log data recorded.

To reset the log:

Swipe 5 times over the sensor

The LED will start rapidly flashing red

Cover the sensor

The LED will stop flashing

Uncover the sensor

The LED will flash green if the log has been reset

Note: The log can only be reset during the first 5 minutes of the Ship-Mate being powered up. After that the log cannot be cleared until you download the log with our software or pull the battery and put it back in.

Ready the Extender

Place the extender vial in some warm water to bring its temperature up. This will help prevent thermal shock when you prepare your semen later.

Collecting

We use and recommend NascoWhirl-Pakcollection bags.For more information on them please visitwww.enasco.com/whirlpak.

Just before you collect, first and very important, with the marker write the collection information on the Whirl-Pak collection bag. Write down the name of the animal and the date and time of the collection. This will prevent any confusion later.

Collect the semen into a clean Styrofoam cup. The Styrofoam cup is temperature neutral. When collecting you want the sperm rich fraction.

Pour the sperm rich fraction into theWhirl-Pak. Next take 3 cc of theINSEMIN-AIDSemen Extender and put it into the cup you collected with. Swirl it around to get any left over semen.

Pack for Shipping

Seal and roll up theWhirl-Pak, place it into the Ship-Mate, and then screw the Ship-Mate lid on.

Place theShip-Matesurrounded by the frozen gel ice packs (the gel ice packs should be frozen solid, not squishy) inside the insulated carton. If you’re providing them for the client, place a new syringe and AI rod inside the insulated carton with theShip-Mate. Put the Styrofoam lid back on the insulated carton.

If you’re sending documentation to the client, put it on top of the Styrofoam lid before you seal the box for shipping. This documentation can include collection information, return shipping information, return shipping label, AI instructions, sales receipt, brochures, and business cards.

Seal up the insulated carton, stick on the shipping label, and you’re ready for shipping.

Shipping Information & Tips

Its best before you even begin all this, you’ve worked out how you’re going to ship to the client. Which services are available to them: UPS, FedEx, USPS, Greyhound, or do some special arrangements need to be made? What time do deliveries usually arrive for them? More urban areas usually receive shipments earlier than rural ones. Is this going to their home or veterinarian’s office? Get as many questions answered as you can. It’ll make shipping that much easier later when your client is ready for you.

Don’t forget to put a return shipping label in the box so they can send the Ship-Mate back to you.

On the outside of the box make sure you’ve clearly identify who the shipment is for.

If you’re shipping UPS Overnight on Friday be sure you use the Saturday delivery (1S) label otherwise it might not deliver until Monday.

Keep in mind the weather. If you can, find out where the hubs are. For example if there’s a blizzard in Louisville or a bad thunderstorm in Memphis, your package could be delayed.

One day shipping to Hawaii or Alaska could take an extra day depending on the carrier.